Talk:Freaktale/@comment-38871392-20190715055443
You know, for such a cool idea, this honestly feels like kind of a waste. A few of these designs are pretty neat ideas, but most of them feel like you didn't really put that much effort into making them memorably freakish. That is the point of this AU isn't it? To start with, let's talk about the Virus, since he seems to be the focal point of this AU. The overall vibe I'm getting from this guy is "Edgy-OC/Fanfic-Writer/Author-Avatar," and while I know that sounds like a complaint, I swear to the God of Hyperdeeath that it isn't. Considering that the character in question is essentially a sentient, malevolent game mod, that's really the most appropriate personality I could think of for it, assuming it was what you were going for. If it wasn't, then what were you going for, exactly? Frisk and Chara being conjoined twins in this AU was a great way to put a freakish spin on the idea of them sharing a body. Not too freakish, but not too normal either. Perfect for two characters who are meant as our window into this crazy world, rather than part of the craziness themselves. Flowey being a Rafflesia arnoldii was definitely a good idea, although I do wish his hunting form was a bit less humanoid. And for Pete's sake, Corpse Lillies don't have roots. If you're going to throw in obscure botany references like this, make sure you get them right. Froggit has four tongues that can function as Doc-Ock limbs. That's a neat detail, even if I missed it the first time. Having Napstablook look like a ghostly human is a great way to play off their normal Bedsheet-style, and making them an agressive killer fits with it quite nicely. Almost like they're on their own Genocide route. If I were to improve on it, I'd give them more of a "supernatural-slasher-villain"-type personality. Not really crazy about the Boss Monsters. Appearance-wise, I appreciate the reference to the mythical wendigo, but there's nothing really memorably weird about them, although that may just be personal preference. As for their personalities, you can't just make Toriel and Asgore into cannibalistic maniacs and expect them to fill the same role they did in the original. If it was a Horror Hunger that they were trying to surpress, it might sort of work, but it doesn't work as just a weird character quirk, especially not when they can apparently stop any time they want. Asriel's fine, though. You didn't change his personality much, but really, you didn't need to. Just altering his appearance to be in line with his parents was really all that was needed. Sans is alright (I especially love how it seems to be a Shout-Out to John Carpenter's The Thing), although the way it's drawn, his rib-legs look more like a giant mustache or fruit roll than anything else. But the whole "legs-fusing-into-a-stinger" thing is kind of awkward. What if instead, it was his coccyx that extended to form the stinger? Also, am I correct in assuming he's more aware than everybody else (save for Frisk, Chara, and the Virus) of how wrong things are? I don't really care for Papyrus's design, but I don't really know how I'd do it better, either. (Maybe something else that looks like something out of The Thing?) Regrettably, that seems to be the case with most of these, so forgive me if I skip a few. Grillby has one eye, and he's made out of molten liquid instead of fire. Not much to say about him, but given his role, he didn't really need much. Just making him look a bit more freakish was plenty, and you did that. Now Undyne, I like. Having the one with the eyepatch changed to have one big eye in the middle of her head was predictable, but it works, and I like the idea of her mutations being the result of her having been broken in a fight. I'm not sure what you meant by "version mental illnesses" (it sounds more like a typo than anything else), but I get that Gerson is supposed to be a crazy human-hunter, which I suppose ties back to his status as a veteran of the War of Humans and Monsters. He thinks he's still fighting in it. Although I notice he seems mostly the same, appearance-wise. I guess that works for an idea like this, but it still feels kind of disappointing for an AU about turning characters into freakish monsters. That's just my personal opinion, though. Appearance-wise, I can appreciate the Mad Dummy's resemblance to a voodoo doll. Personality-wise, you can't improve on perfection. I like the personality you came up with for Alphys, but the design you gave her doesn't really fit with it. Although I get the feeling that there's a lot more hiding in the True Lab than there is in canon. Not much to say about Mettaton. You turned the robot into a mangled mess of machine parts. That's not a bad idea, but you didn't really do anything memorable with it here. Alright, Muffet's just a disappointment. I've never heard of a mutation that makes spiders blue before, although a google search turned up something about a mutation that gives them one blood-red fang. If that's what you were going for, it was a good idea, although it really could've been better communicated. Aside from that, there's not really much meat to her design. Here's an idea, what if instead of being a giant, humanoid spider, she was a bunch of normal-sized spiders stuffed into a fancy petticoat ? And gosh diddly-dang it, why does Photoshop Flowey have a normal-looking sprite? Make it look like one of those graphics-corruption videos! Use footage of an actual Rafflesia arnoldii! Use footage of Vileplume! If there was one place you really should've gone to town on the weirdness, that would've been it, but instead you took it in the exact opposite direction! (On a related note, I notice you've made a lot of overworld sprites, and very few Shop or Battle sprites. That dosn't really work to its advantage here. This was just the most egregious example.) Gaster having more of a presence in this AU makes sense, although the fact that you apparently need to hack him into the game kind of conflicts with this AU's plot. Wouldn't the Virus have done that himself? Some people might complain about including characters like Red and Betty, but again, it makes sense given the Virus's personality. But I imagine that they'd be more front-and-center, rather than just being an Easter Egg. And I get that you've replaced the Annoying Dog with someone that represents yourself, but that doesn't really work for this AU given that it's supposed to be an in-universe modification of the original UNDERTALE. If anything, it's Sky who would take that role.